About

Vast: The Crystal Caverns

$148,766

pledged of $18,000 goal

2,897

backers

The dragon has been asleep for many long years. In that time, the cave under which it slumbered has changed greatly. Goblins and strange monsters have filled its gloomy depths and there are whispers that the cave itself has begun thinking, shifting, and growing evermore dangerous...

On this day, a knight steps into the darkness to make a final stand. Little does she know that she will awake everything that slumbers in the shadows—and begin a terrible battle in the darkness.

Trove takes you and your friends into the torchlight of a classic cave-crawling adventure, built on the concept of total asymmetry. Gone are days of the merry band of travelers fighting off evil. In Trove, you will become part of a new legend... Any part you wish!

Play as the daring Knight, the chaotic Goblin horde, the greedy Dragon, or even the Cave itself — powerful, brooding, and intent on crushing the living things that dare to disturb its gloomy depths. Each role has its own powers, pieces, and paths to victory … and there can only be one winner.

To Win:

The Knight must kill the
Dragon. The Knight gains power by completing Sidequests and recovering lost Treasures. She can reset her abilities each turn.

The Goblins must kill the Knight. The Goblins build 3 different Tribes by playing a push-your-luck style game. Then they move around the board trying to corner the Knight.

The Dragon must wake up and escape through the entrance. The Dragon starts out slow but wakes up as he steals treasure, devours Goblins, and explores the Cave. He does this by playing cards to fuel various powers.

The Cave must fully expand and then collapse. The Cave does this by gaining Omens, placing treasure to lure the other players into the its depths, and placing Tiles.

With a Cave constructed of tiles, and decks full of monsters, special abilities, and game-changing events, no two playthroughs will ever be the same. Trove is truly unlike any game you’ve ever played.

Project

Down in the links section you can see all of the files to print the game. I haven't hidden anything about the design of the game. Designer David Somerville started a discussion about the design of the game last summer and many people have had input into the game. I have been a part of that discussion since December and have spent countless hours balancing and developing the game.

With the money we put together from this Kickstarter we will be professionally printing the game. It will include: Player Boards, Tiles, Cards, Standees, and Cubes.

The components in the photos are just our prototype printed on foamcore. This will be a regular run with professionally printed cards. The Tiles will be the quality of Carcassonne Tiles printed by Ludo Fact. The Cubes will be wooden cubes and the Standees will be part of a punch board.

Here is a manifest of all of the components:

Design

I am going to do one more design phase after the Kickstarter is over. During that time I will work on the following.

Goblins - The Goblins work pretty well, but they are a bit much for new players. In my private play testing they are already fixed, I just wanted to avoid changing the Print and Play until after the Kickstarter.

2 Player - The changes to the Goblins help balance the game when the Knight and the Goblins are in a 2 player game together.

Other Variations - I have identified many combinations of 2 and 3 players I would like to make work and have started testing in earnest. Combinations like the Goblins versus the Dragon.

Risks and challenges

As with any board game Kickstarter campaign, there are a lot of moving pieces. We understand that unexpected delays in production, manufacturing, and shipping can occur. We have planned for these contingencies and are committed to minimizing the impact any "behind the scenes" issues have on our backers.

Trove: The Crystal Caverns is the second LederGames project to be funded through Kickstarter. Our last project, Trick or Treat Card Game was funded at 129%. We are happy to report that there were no significant issues at any point during that campaign. We expect the same of Trove.

At this point, the design is complete, the art is well on its way, the rules have been thoroughly reviewed, edited, and revised, and we are already set up with a manufacturer. Having completed all of this before launching the Kickstarter campaign has made us confident in the smooth success of Trove.

However, should setbacks occur, we promise to communicate them as quickly as possible and work double time to find a solution that best serves our backers. If at any time you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact us. We're here for you!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $125 or more
About $125

Cave - You will receive 1 copy of Trove: the Crystal Caverns, as well at Patrick Leder's previous game Trick or Treat. We will also send you a set of 10 prints that we have hand selected from the Illustrations.